The French hood is an iconic part of Tudor fashion, and has become synonymous with the most infamous of Henry VII's wives, Anne Boleyn. But I think we've taken for granted all these years how it might be constructed. After staring at hundreds of images, searching primary sources, and reading the current scholarship, I support the theory that French hoods are made up of a cap with a pleated gold frill and a black hood that is folded back to reveal the lining, creating the "crescent" shape that we often see in portraits.

Now, this is all just experimentation and I am in no way saying this is the only way French hoods were made, but I do think it is an incredibly compelling theory, I encourage you to try your own experiments and see what you discover!

Hair taping:
Morgan Donner    • I stopped wearing hair elastics for a...  
Tudor Tailor    • Tudor hair lacing  

References:
Høskuldsson, Karen Margrethe. “Hidden in Plain Black: The Secrets of the French Hood.” Medieval Clothing and Textiles 14, edited by ROBIN NETHERTON and GALE R. OWEN-CROCKER, NED - New edition ed., Boydell & Brewer, 2018, pp. 141–178. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.7722/j.ctt1wx91p5.12.

Schuessler, Melanie. "French Hoods: Development of a Sixteenth-Century Court Fashion." Medieval Clothing & Textiles 5, edited by Robin Netherton and Gale R. Owen-Crocker, Boydell Press, 2009, pp. 129-160.

Hayward, Maria. Dress at the Court of King Henry Viii. Leeds UK: Maney Publ, 2007.

Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe Uploaded: http://elizabethancostume.net/cyte/El...

Materials:
Paste buckram: https://www.etsy.com/listing/46804408...

Images:
https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/m...
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Us...
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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Us...
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https://beaux-arts.dijon.fr/sites/def...
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collect...
http://balat.kikirpa.be/photo.php?pat...
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https://www.philamuseum.org/collectio...
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/a...
https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv...
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...

Music:
Suonatore di Liuto by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song...
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Suonatore di Liuto by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song...
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

All other music from Epidemic Sound.